Silence is not enough
by Graham Davies

There is an old and hackneyed piece of presentational advice that is often trotted out : It is better to stay quiet and make people think that you might be stupid, than to open your mouth and leave them in no doubt.

Yes, very funny. And if you have nothing to add to the silence, silence is still best. However, reliance on silence as your distinctive presentational stance is just not good enough if you are a Chief Executive or a Prime Minister.

Gordon Brown has only today said something, at last, about the despicable release of the Lockerbie bomber. This is the sort of issue that a PM must have an immediate opinion on....an opinion that he can convey to his nation-wide audience at the earliest opportunity.

It is a clear mark of his lack of presentational prioritisation that he did find something to say about England's Ashes victory, while at the same time staying unpleasantly silent for 5 days about allegations of behind-the-scenes deals with Gadaffi.

When you are a leader, reactive slience is not enough. When an issue of such importance burns its way into your public's eye, you have to decide on...and present...a pro-active Micro-Message as soon as possible.

Or you can be like Gordon...quietly sliding into professional oblivion.